Bandsaw vs Chop Saw

I'll add my vote for a band saw. I had a big dewalt. Loud and messy... sparks. Bought a small bandsaw from Harbor Freight wasn't sure I'd like it. A week later sold the cut off saw. Just this last month, sold the small band saw which I've used a lot over the past few years and bought a larger one from Grizzly. Bandsaw!
 
Bandsaw all the way. I use the saw to remove as much stock as possible before machining so I was very happy with my choice of an industrial model that could handle constant use.

Paul.
 
get a hand bandsaw. Then buy a table to mount it on from SWAG. Best of all worlds especially in smaller spaces.
 
JohnnyTK said:
I live in a small condo and space is limited, but I have been fortunate to be able have a friend cut stock for me as I work on my steam engine building skills. My space is limited so I was thinking of a metal chop saw to cut copper, brass and aluminium or I can buy a compact band saw that can be put on the shelf and not the larger Chinese floor model that most hobbyist have
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That band saw will be fine.
I have a Milwaukee band saw, that I made a table for.
it is perfect as it allows me to cut stock to size, and also cut shapes for rough cutting.
I don't think the chop saw is as valuable if you are doing small work. The saw you are showing would be even better if you can remount it in a small table when needed. That arm looks removeable.
Don't worry about the brushed motor, it's not too loud.
 
I have owned and used a 14" abrassive chop saw, a 14" dewalt dry cut saw and a bandsaw. The chop saw is loud, dirty and it does take a long time to get through thicker steel. The dry cut saw is also loud and messy, but it does a very nice job on thicker steel. It is also very fast. My main problem with it was with the lack of accuracy, trying to get square cuts was near impossible. The bandsaw is quite, keeps it's mess in one nice pile and makes nice square cuts. It is slower than the dry cut saw. Your milleage may vary on squre cuts depending on the model you get, but for the apartment life, I would choose the bandsaw.
 
I use a PortaBand Pro from Trick Tools. Also got the accessory table for using it as a vertical bandsaw. Quite compact, cuts well, quiet, and well made. Not inexpensive.
 
All is very subjective, so any opinion on a version of bandsaw will very much depend on the needs of the user... I have a jet 14" vertical wood bandsaw with a jackshaft to slow it down for metal use, nice for thinner metal, I have one of the popular 4x6 variant horizontal bandsaw, good for heavier cuts, works nice for any materials I use it on, I have a couple chopsaws, as everyone mentioned, noisy, messy, lots of sparks, not very accurate...
I don't own one, but those little bandsaw chopsaws look like they would really be a great solution, unless you would like to do alot of scrollsaw type work, than I would consider the 4x6 horizontal/vertical or the portable with a swag off-road table.
Hand grinders may be an option, though they have more negatives than positives based on what info has been given
 
I have my Portaband mounted in one of these Swag Offroad stands, with a footpedal switch, works pretty good, and is fastened to the end of my bench top, so takes little room. Note that they have a few diffrent models to fit different saws.

http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-V30-Portaband-Table_p_55.html

I used to have one of those pivot stands shown in the earlier part of the thread but it had poor control over the cut and would jam and cause the blade to pop off the pulleys.
 
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